Gender pay gap

Thanks to Jerry Large for his insightful column on the gender pay gap and its causes [“Wider look at gender pay gap,” NWMonday, June 10]. I agree that a lot of the problem boils down to the lack of affordable, high-quality child care and lack of paid maternity leave. Other major factors are the demise of affirmative action — which particularly impacts women of color — and the care burden placed on women when funding for human services is slashed.

I strongly believe that free, public, developmental child care is a human right and a social responsibility, just like the right to free public education. How to pay for it? It’s simple — wealthy corporations and Washington’s superrich should be taxed through a steeply graduated income and profits tax. The money’s there, but it’s going to the greedy instead of the needy.

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